One of the adages that Steve Covey popularized in his 7 Habits was "give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime." The statement is obviously true and applicable in many of life's situations, but frankly there are instances when people either don't have the time or the desire to learn how to fish. I'm not talking about the welfare crowd (though that may be a problem). What I'm talking about is small business owners and what it takes to successfully sell to them.

Here is my experience: We developed Promoterz as an inexpensive, do-it-yourself system that any small business could use to collect customer feedback, generate referrals and stay in touch with their customers. In a nutshell, we help them make sure their customers are happy and get them talking to their friends. The system has been tested in multiple industries and it works. Those that use it, receive measurable benefit.

So far, so good. We've got a tool that the majority of small businesses could use to speed their growth. As we've met with business owners in person or attracted them to our website, it has become clear that most of them don't want to be taught how to use the tool. They don't have time. They would much prefer to pay for a service. In order to put fish on their table they have a list of about 100 other things they need to be learning and doing. One customer noted that when she wants an ad in the newspaper she just pays the paper and doesn't have to know how to use the press. Ouch!

As we tweak the pricing model to cover the additional service, some small businesses may balk, but I am now convinced that there are more small businesses looking for a fillet on the platter (complete with a wedge of lemon) than those interested in buying a fishing pole--even if it comes with a fly tying kit.

Food's on! Step right up!

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Do you remember your customers on their birthday? On their anniversary? Do you give special notice to recently acquired customers? Promoterz does. Learn more

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Seeds of Growth--principles that help businesses grow
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Where can you learn about fishing, gas for $2.55 a gallon, and what they both have to do with growing your business? We've launched a new blog that is focused on discovering and discussing the principles that help businesses grow. Nothing too serious, but hopefully some good tidbits that will generate new ideas and help you with your business. You can check it out at http://www.seedsofgrowth.com. Leave some comments and let us know what you think. We've also changed promoterz.com--see what you think.

One of the most valuable benefits of using PromoterZ(TM) is the list of opt-in email addresses that it collects for you. You can use the list to build your relationship with your customers, share information with them, and encourage them to return. The list, however, does no good unless it is used. Remember, these are your customers that want to hear more from you--don't let them down.

One of the beautiful things about email is that it can be current and immediate. (You can read more about that here). As you think about the month of May, here are some ideas for specials:

- NBA playoffs--If your local team is still in the running, let your customers know you are a fan. (Game 7 Special! Go Suns!)

- Mother's Day--Lot's of options here. We can never do too much for our moms.

Those are the "biggies" but there are lot's of others. The best are those that are local and current. Here are a few others to get you thinking:

May 6th-International No Diet Day (my personal favorite)
May 9th-National Teacher Day
May 10th-Clean Up Your Room Day (we are definitely celebrating that in our house)
May 14th-National Dance Like a Chicken Day (huh?)
May 15th-National Chocolate Chip Day (my other favorite)
May 20th-Armed Forces Day

You get the point. Do a web search on May Holidays and then be creative. Also don't forget that you can get an email out in literally 5 minutes. If there is something very current happening, take advantage of it and get the email out. Your customers see countless generic commercials every day. Send them something refreshing and they'll appreciate it.

If you need help with art work or getting your special set up for May, send us an email. We're happy to help.

PromoterZ(TM) is a great tool that can help gather feedback, referrals, and opt-in emails. As we just discussed, it is also very powerful for proactively communicating with your customers. But none of it happens if your customers aren't participating. So how do you get more of your customers to participate? Here are some ideas from your fellow PromoterZ(TM) users:

1) Get personal--if you are handing out an invitation card, make a personal request. Don't just leave them on the counter or shove them in the bag, hand it to them and say "I would love your feedback. Would you mind taking just 60 seconds to let us know how we did?"

2) Be persistent--Tyler Slade of Canyonlands Insurance invites his customers by email. But, he talks to them on the phone before he sends the invite and lets them know it is coming. Then he sends the invite and if he needs to he follows up by phone. His response rate is high and, not surprisingly, so are his feedback scores.

3) Share the feedback--This isn't obvious, but the best way to get your employees excited about asking customers for feedback is to share the feedback with your employees. Chuck Matheny of Sport Clips swears by this. He says his stylists take more pride in the their work and are motivated by the feedback they receive.

4) Reconsider the incentive--If you are not offering an incentive, consider offering one. If you are offering one and your response rate is still not what you would like it to be experiment with other incentives. In general a "Free" offer is more motivating than a discount. Christine switched her Subway stores from $1 off a sandwich to a free cookie with great resutls. Also, and this ties back to number 1, don't forget to offer an incentive to your employees to encourage them to ask for feedback. Run a contest and give movie tickets to the employee that gets the most feedback.

If you have other ideas or questions about improving your response rate, send us an email.

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Tell Us What You Think
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Speaking of feedback, we are always looking for it. If you have ideas or suggestions for improving PromoterZ(TM) we would like to hear about them. Over the next few weeks we will be adding new features based on requests from users like you. If you have ideas, let us know. Here is our feedback link:

Get customer feedback, generate referrals, and increase repeat sales for as little as $150 a month. Learn more

Seeds from the blogworld

We search the business blog world looking for posts that illustrate principles, or "Seeds", that if followed, or "planted", will help small businesses grow. We list them here for your convenience. Enjoy.